Saturday, July 29, 2017

Raspberry Pi



Yesterday returned to Mexico with my JLH 1969 Headphone Amp and TDA1387 x8 DAC very excited to get the equipment setup.   

First listen was Sony MDR-7506 > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > TDA1387 x8 DAC > MacBook Pro.  I was immediately disappointed the Sony MDR-7506 and MacBook Pro had a grounding hum that was bothersome.

Next tried Denon D2000 > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > TDA1387 x8 DAC > MacBook Pro. Same issue grounding hum, believe the  Denon D2000 and Sony MDR-7506 impedance is too low for the JLH 1969 Headphone Amp.

Then got Volumio working on Raspberry Pi 3.  Listening directly out of the Raspberry Pi 3 was a disappointment.

Then got Audiophonics DAC ES9023 V2 TCXO > Raspberry Pi working, gone was the grounding hum.  The sound quality was a large improvement,  not as musical as TDA1387 but a big improvement.  I miss the laid back sound of the DT770 and the TDA1387.   Next will setup Digi + Pro with TDA1387.

To do:
Set-up Digi+ Pro
Assemble Ian Fifo
Assemble 9028
   
In Order of Sound Quality (SQ)
  1. WiFi > Linn Jazz > Raspberry Pi 3 > TDA1387 x8 DAC > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > Sennheiser HD650  No grounding hum, wonderful musicality of the TDA1387.  Hard to believe the ES9028 and the Ian Fifo will sound better than this ! 
  2. HD650 300ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > Audiophonics DAC ES9023 V2 TCXO > Raspberry Pi No grounding hum, not as musical as TDA1387 but grounding hum is gone 
  3. HD650 300ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > TDA1387 x8 DAC > MacBook Pro Maybe it is the electricity in Mexico, but  more grounding hum than I remember   
  4. DT770 250 ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > TDA1387 x8 DAC > MacBook Pro.  Sounds natural and easy, not the largest sound stage, not that large a range, great left / right separation, very musical.
  5. DT770 250 ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > iFi Nano > MacBook Pro.  More digital, sharper
  6. DT770 250 ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro > Raspberry Pi.  Sounds small, not rich, compressed and confused, all the information is there, but not musical.


Sunday, July 16, 2017

An Update



In order of Sound Quality
  1. DT770 250 ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > TDA1387 x8 DAC > MacBook Pro.  Sounds natural and easy, not the largest sound stage, not that large a range, great left / right separation, very musical.
  2. DT770 250 ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > iFi Nano > MacBook Pro.  More digital, sharper
  3. DT770 250 ohm > JLH 1969 Headphone Amp > HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro > Raspberry Pi.  Sounds small, not rich, compressed and confused, all the information is there, but not musical.
Also tried all of the above using the Sony MDR-7506, small soundstage, brittle sounding, too close